China’s earthquake

Japan's earthquake catastrophe quickly overshadowed a much smaller quake in southwestern China a day earlier, one that left more than 50,000 people homeless and killed 25 people.

State-run media reported that the 5.8-magnitude quake that struck Thursday in rural Yunnan province, a site of frequent earthquake activity, injured another 133 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Disaster recovery crews have reportedly rushed to the area and set up temporary shelters for the victims. The vast structural damage and injuries there further underscore how the less developed, poorer parts of China are potentially more prone to higher damage and death tolls, even from small earthquakes.